A Las Vegas man has been arrested for having sex with a dead homeless woman by the side of a busy road. Joseph G. Martinez, 57, is alleged to have had sex with the corpse in a large flower bed by the side of the multi-lane West Charleston Boulevard, near Rancho Drive, reported the Mail Online.

Police arrived at the scene at around 16.30 local time on Sunday 25 June where they discovered the dead woman.

Martinez was charged with one count of unlawful sexual penetration of a dead body, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which cited the police arrest report.

Officers believe the woman was homeless because she had no form of identification about her person. Martinez, who is being held without bail at Clark County Detention Center, claimed he met the deceased the previous night and that she had later died.

A coroner determined that she had passed away between two and four hours before being found, said the report. As of Thursday, they had not yet determined the cause of her death.

Las Vegas police found her corpse near a church and the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Martinez's address was not given in the report, suggesting he may also be homeless.

A 2008 article from the website handleonthelaw.com says that necrophiliacs can face life imprisonment in Nevada, the most severe punishment for any US state.

The alleged necrophilia took place by West Charleston Boulevard in Las VegasGoogle maps